A passenger ferry carrying 267 people sank off the coast of occupied Kyrenia in northern Cyprus on Sunday, leaving at le...

A passenger ferry carrying 267 people sank off the coast of occupied Kyrenia in northern Cyprus on Sunday, leaving at least 8 dead and 17 missing. The vessel, operated by Filo Denizcilik and named Filojet, capsized and sank to a depth of 514 meters while traveling from Kyrenia port toward Tasucu in southern Turkey. The cause of the sinking remains unknown. The ship began taking on water approximately four nautical miles from Kyrenia port before capsizing completely. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, speaking to CNN Türk, confirmed the depth made accessing the wreck extremely difficult and that rescue hopes for anyone still trapped inside are slim. Two children are currently in intensive care for monitoring, he added. The captain and eight crew members have been arrested in connection with the disaster. Turkish Cypriot authorities, the Turkish Coast Guard, and the Turkish Navy have deployed a total of six naval vessels, four patrol craft, five additional coast guard boats, two helicopters, two drones, and a CASA surveillance aircraft to continue the search operation. The Republic of Cyprus immediately offered full assistance through UNFICYP, offering to take over the search and rescue operation with its own naval and air assets if needed. The presidential palace in Nicosia stated clearly that when human lives are at risk, Cyprus will contribute with every available resource. Turkish parliamentary speaker Numan Kurtulmus called the incident "extraordinarily tragic" and offered condolences to victims' families. AKP spokesman Omer Celik said all available resources had been mobilized and that rescue efforts were continuing at full force. Erdogan also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. #Cyprus #Kyrenia #ShipwreckKyrenia